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EULOGY 



LIFE a:sd CHAEACTER 



HON. THOMAS J. RUSK. 



31.y?k.TE TJ. S. SEKT-A-TO^l FPIOIIN^ TE^CA-S. 



DBLIVERED IN THB 



i.l;ill of ll]c foust 0f gc^xestntatibts 0f tk State 0f %%u%, 

ON THE SEVENTH OP NOVEMBER, 1857. 

BY JOPiN HEMPHILL. 



„-*,,,„ -.-^.^ 



FriRted By Order of the House of Represenjalives of the 7th Legislature of Texas 



AUSTIN: 



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PRINTED BY JOHN MARSHALL & CO.,! STATE PRINTERS. 

18.o7. 



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Class 3 b 



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EULOGY 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



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L^^TE XJ. S. SElSr^A-TOH FPIOIVE TESZ-A^S. 



DEI, IVBRBD IN THK 



all 0f tk louse ^f lUBrcsculatibts ^f tk ^^t;itc jof Imx$, 



ON THE SEVENTH OF NOVEMBER, 1857. 



BY JOHN HEMPHILL. 



Printed Ey Orier of the House of Rep'eseniatives of the 7tii Legislilore of Texas, 



AUSTIN: 

PRINTED BY JOHN MAESHALL & CO., STATE TEINTEES. 

1857. 



rs 



Austin, 9th Nov., 1857. - 

Dear Sir : — In obedience to a resolution passed by tbe 
House of KeiDresentatives of the Seventh Legislature of the 
State of Texas, the undersigned committee, appointed for that 
purpose, beg leave to request for publication, a copy of the 
eulogy on the life and character of the late General Thomas 
J. Rusk, delivered by you in the Representative Hall, on the 
7th inst. 

With considerations of the highest esteem, we subscribe 
ourselves, 

Yours truly and respectfully, 

JACOB W.ELDER, 
JOHN HENRY BROWN, 
THOS. J. JOHNSON, 

Committee. 
Hon. John Hemphill. 



Austin, Nov. lltli, 1857. 

Gentlemen : — I have just received your note requesting, 
in obedience to a resolution of the House of Representatives, 
a copy, for publication, of the eulogy delivered by me on the 
life and character of the late General Thomas J. Rusk. 

In compliance with your request, I herewith forward you 
a copy, and have the honor, with sentiments of the highest 
esteem, to subscribe myself. 

Very respectfully. 

Your most obedient servant, 

JOHN HEMPHILL. 

Hons. Jacob Wilder, John Henry Brown, Thomas J. 
Johnson, Commiitee. 



EULOaY. 



Fellow-Citizens : 

We are assembled to lament the death, and render homage 
to the memory of one of our most illustrious patriots, one who 
was among the first, if not the foremost, in the hearts of his 
countrymen. Thomas J. Rusk the warrior, the statesman, 
the idolized of Texas, is no more. 

That magnificent form, where "every god did seem to set 
his seal," has been consigned to the dust. The eye which 
beamed with intellect and with benevolence, has lost its bright- 
ness. The tongue which uttered words of wisdom is silent. 
No more shall his noble presence cheer with its animating 
influence, or inspire confidence, love and aifection. He is dead. 
His work is finished on the earth. Well may we exclaim with 
the pathetic lamentation of the mourner in Israel: "Hoav 
are the mighty fallen ! " But though dead, he still lives in 
our memories and in the gratitude of his country. His name 
is identified with some of the most important events of the 
-v^c present century, nay i$L the history of human Liberty — events 
which have exerted, and will continue to exert, a wide influence 
over the affairs of men, and the destinies of this hemisphere. 

The voice of grief or eulogy cannot reach him — but we may, 
with advantage to ourselves, contemplate his character, life, 
and actions ; and the brightest tribute that we can pay him 
will be the affectionate rememberance of his deeds — attachment 



to his principles — and imitation of the hright and noble quali- 
ties of his example. 

TnoMAS J. EusK was born of John and Mary Husk, in 
Pendleton District, South Carolina, on the 5th Dec, 1803. 

His father, who had emigrated from Ireland, was an honest 
and industrious stone-mason. His parents were poor and 
unable to give him the advantage of a collegiate or liberal 
e.lucation. 

At an early age he evinced a love for books, which was 
greatly increased under the influence and encouragement of 
his mother, a woman of i)icty and good sense, to whom he was 
in the habit of reading especially the Holy Scriptures. 

His fine capacity and his thirst for knowledge early attracted 
the attention of Mr. Caliioun, (then in the commencement of 
his bright career,) who took an interest in the boy, encouraging 
him with his advice, and assisting him with the h);!n of books. 
These words of kindness and encouragement sank deep into 
the heart of the youth, and often afterwards, (as beautifully 
expressed by Mr. Rusk in his remarks upon the death of Mr. 
Calhoun,) a recurrence, under the most critical circumstances, 
to those words inspired him with resolution to meet the diffi- 
culties that beset his path. The friendly relations then formed 
continued through the life of Mr. Calhoun, and the kind 
feelings which so impressed the youth were long years after- 
wards manifested by the veteran statesman, on the last day 
in which, with a body worn down with disease, he occupied 
his seat in the Senate Chamber. At a suitable age, Mr. Rusk 
commenced reading law in the office of Wm. Grisliam, for 
many years Clerk of the Pendleton District Court, earning his 
livelihood at the same time as a Clerk in a merchant's store. 
In 1825 or 6, he removed to Habersham county, Georgia. In 
1827, he married Mary P., the daughter of Col Cleaveland, 
one of the leading men in that section of the State. He was 
engaged in merchandize until 1833 — and having shortly after 
his removal to Georgia been admitted to the practice of the 



law, he entered upon an extensive and lucrative professional 
business, having a high standing among a Bar eminent for 
professional ability. Unfortunately the spirit of speculation 
was rife in the "Gold Region of G-eorgia/' and he became 
largely interested in the stock of a mining company, the 
managers of which, proving faithless, absconded v\dth the pro- 
perty of the company — leaving him with others in poverty 
and debt. He pursued them to Texas, in the winter of 1834- 
35, but overtook them only to find that the effects had been 
squandered and lost. 

He did not, when he visited Texas, intend to reside here 
permanently. But he saw that a fine field was opened in this 
rising country, in which by energy, industry, and enterprize, 
he might repair his shattered fortunes. He saw also that the 
toils of despotism were gathering around the jDCople of Texas. 
That their Just claim, under the organic act of May 7th, 
1824, to admission as a separate State of the Mexican Confe- 
deracy, had been disregarded ; their Commissioner, Stephen 
F. Austin, (to present their memorial for admission as a State) 
imprisoned ; the federal form itself of the government threat- 
ened with overthrow, to be succeeded by a central military 
and priestly despotism. That the violence whicli had for 
years afflicted the interior of Mexico with such deplorable 
calamities, prostrating its free institutions and its legitimate 
authorities — and consigning the friends of the Constitution 
and of freedom to the dungeon or to exile, would most prob- 
ably, or rather inevitably, extend to Texas, hitherto exempted 
by the remoteness of its situation — and, in fine, such was the 
alarming progress of usurpation and oppression, that war 
would ultimately be the only remedy by vv^hich the people of 
Texas could save themselves and their liberties from total 
destruction — and with that generosity of spirit and devotion 
to freedom, which shed such warmth and brilliancy of lustre 
over the character and acts of the subject of this eulogy, he 
determined to remain, and offer his services and his life to the 
coming struggle. Nor was he mistaken in his apprehensions 



that the people would finully be compelled to resort to arms 
in defence of then- liberties. 

The political action of the Mexican authorities, aL every 
successive step, evinced a determination to overthrow, without 
even the call of a Constituent Congress, and in disregard of 
the provisions (especially of the 171st art.) of the Constitu- 
tion of 1824, the federal form of government, and establish .a 
central despotism on its ruins. In the course of these arl)itrary 
proceedings, and without referring to those of a date anterior 
to the arrival of Gen. Rusk in Texas, the Vi(ie-President, 
Gomez Farias, a Republican in principle, but an enemy to the 
despotic rule of the Priesthood and of the military, v,-as early 
in the year 1835 deposed without impeachment or trial. On 
the thirty-first day of March, 1836, by decree of the Mexican 
Cong-ress, the civic militia Y\-as ordered to be reduced to one for 
every five hundred inhabitants, and the remainder disarmed ; 
an enormity of despotism sufficient in itself to have justified 
a revolution. On the twentj^-second of April, 1835, the Con- 
gress of Coahuila and Texas protested energetically against 
the proposed violeirt reforms of the Government. That tliey 
were especially dangerous for Coahuila and Texas, bordering 
as she did on a powerful Republic — a considerable portion of 
its territory settled by inhabitants whom changes did not suit, 
and who could not conform to such inconstancy in the most 
essential acts of the public administration, and that the State 
would recognize no other amendments than those made ac- 
cording to the forms of the Constitution. The State also, at 
the same time, protested against the Decree disbanding and 
disarming the militia. These jirotests were wholly disregar- 
ded. On the second of May, 1835, the National Congress 
passed an act of general amnesty for political ofienccs since 
1821, excluding (against the remonstrance of the State of 
Coahuila and Texas) persons not. born in the Republic, who 
had participated since the first of May, 1834, in "the political 
disturbances of the country. Thus proscribing and excluding 
Texans (who were principally foreigners) from the benefit of 
the Decree. 



Several of tlie Southern States of Mexico were opposed to 
the revolutionary proceedings of the Centralists ; but they 
were silenced, or were too weak to offer formidable resistance. 
The State of Zacatecas which had often "curbed despotism 
and the abuse of power," protested against the usurpations of 
the National authorities — refused to disband its militia and 
had recourse to arms, to protect its sovereign rights as a State. 
But her array, on the eleventh of May, 1835, was defeated 
with immense slaughter. Her fine Capital, with all its wealth, 
given up to unbridle J pillage, and her noble sons hewn down 
with merciless butchery. The heroic etibrt of this gallant 
State was quenched in blood, and her people reduced to un- 
conditional submission. The State of Coahuila and Texas 
was left alone to to uphold the Constitution of 1824. But the 
authorities of the State had become so unpopular in Texas 
from their wasteful expenditure of the public lands, that the 
energetic appeals to the Texians by the Executive of the State 
to arouse themselves, for their property, liberty and lives de- 
pended upon the capricious will of their direst enemies, were, 
for the time, disregarded. The Executive was subsequently 
arrested, the Legislature dispersed, and the province of Coa- 
huila finally subjected to military government. The storm 
was now rapidly approaching Texas, the only portion of the 
Republic of Mexico that had not been subjugated. It became 
apparent that the Federal Constitution would be destroyed. 
The patriot Zavala, and some of our own eminent citizens were 
proscribed, and orders sent for their arrest and transfer to the 
interior ; to be given up, in effect, to military execution. It 
was proclaimed that the Texians must obey the constitution 
governing the Mexicans, no matter on what principles it may 
be founded. In the despatch to the Governors and Political 
Chiefs, of the thirty-first August, the National Executive re- 
gards Texas as then in armed rebellion, and declares that he 
had taken the most active measures to chastise the ungrateful 
foreigners. Troops were now introduced into Texas under va- 
rious pretences. The Colonists, though they had, as well from 
inclination as interest, been hitherto diposed to peace, were 



10 

not the men to tamely surrencler rlj^hts secured by so many 
guarantees, or be driven from the country in Avhich tlioj^ had 
settled by invitation from the Government, and which they, 
by their unaided toils and efforts, had reclaimed irom the 
savage and emljellibhed with the ini|)n)vements of civilization. 

There was no alternative left but a resort to arms ; and at 
length the torch was ap].)lied to the intlannnable materials and 
the flame of war spread throughout the land. 

A piece of artillery was demanded by the Mexican Com- 
mandant of San Antonio from the town of Gonzales, and a 
body of Cavalry sent to enforce the demand. This was re- 
sisted. Volunteers rushed furw;u\l to sup})ort the gallant cit- 
izens of that town and vicinity ; and on the first day of Octo- 
ber, 1835, the first battle was fought by Texas, and the first 
victory gained in the c<uisc of Liberty, of State sovereignty, 
and of tlie Constitution of" 1824. 

In the mean time, and before any thing had been done or 
resolved upon, Gen. Eusk, in anticipation of events, had 
raised a Company at Nacogdoches, which was drilled by him 
into a state of great efficiency, and with which, or a portion 
of which, he, on the first news of the atteni])! at disarming, 
repaired to the army in the West — then under the connnand 
of General Stephen F. Austin. It was here that General 
Eusk first became acquainted with this great and good man, 
so eminently entitled, from his extraordinary services and ex- 
alted intellectual and moral qualities, to the appellation of 
Father of his country. To him, Gen. Eusk became much 
attached, and in his own language, ho regarded him as the 
purest patriot and the best man he ever knew. The military 
qualities of Gen. Eusk, though a stranger, were appreciated, 
and he was placed on the Staff of the Commanding General. 
His force of character and intellect had their just influence — 
and as occasions offered, he exhibited his characteristic bold- 
ness and intrepidity; and especially in his daring attempt, at 
the head of forty Cavalry, to draw the enemy from their en- 
trenchments. After the first successes at San Antonio, he 



11 

returned to the Seat of Government at San Felipe ; and on 
the tenth December was appointed by the Council to proceed 
East of the Triuity to procure reinforcements and supplies to 
aid in the reduction of the City of San Antonio, and though 
that City, after a continuous assault of five days in its honses 
and streets, had, with all the hostile forces, surrendered on the 
day this a})pointment was made, yet the men and munitions 
collected were of valuable assistance in the futnre operations 
of the army. He, with others, was elected from Nacogdoches 
as a Delegate to the Convention to assemble at Washington 
on the first of March, 1836. The great question in the can- 
vass had been, whether Texas should declare her entire Na- 
tional Independence, or adhere, as by the Declaration of the 
seventh November, to the Kepublican principles of the Con- 
stitution of 1824. The considerations which induced the Con- 
sultation to decline the assertion of absolute Independence 
and total separation from Mexico, had now, in the opinion of 
a great majority, lost their force. The Consitution of 1824 
had been absolutely abolished, and the States reduced to De- 
partments. There were ardent and enlightened lovers of lib- 
erty in Mexico — but they w^ere powerless. The mass of the 
Nation was against us, having been ftilsely induced to believe 
that our only object was, and had been, the dismemberment 
of the Mexican Territory. The war on the i)art of Mexico, 
as againt Texas, was no party war — for or against this or 
that form of Gov^ernment, but was national — was to chastise 
or exterminate those denounced by them as "foreign robbers." 
The war on our part could be no longer to sustain a party in 
Mexico, or for a form of Mexican Government — but for self- 
preservation — for Independence, and for a Government of our 
own, adapted to our wants and circumstances. The sentiment 
in favor of unconditional Independence had become general ; 
and accordingly, on the second day of the session, viz : the 
second of March, 1836, the Convention unanimously declared 
Texas to be a free, sovereign and independent Republic, and 
that its political connection witn the Mexican nation had 
forever ended. 



12 

The circumstances under wliicli this declaration was made 
were perilous in the extreme. 

. Saata Anna, with his immense hosts, had invested the 
Alamo. In a few days this was taken, and its brave defenders 
put to the sword. There were rumors of the approach ol the 
enem}'-, and the Constitution, (one of the best ever penned,) 
was hastily thrown together, and on the 16th March, the Con- 
vention adjourned. The ability of Gen. Ru«k in debate, his 
sound jud^jjment and conservative principles and influence had 
great weight in the convention, and some of the principal fea- 
tures of the constitution are attributable to his agency. So 
high was the estimate of his woith, and his capacity to meet 
the awful exigency then threatening the country with speedy 
and overwhelming ruin, that he was by the convention una- 
nimously el.^cted Secretary of War of the government, ad in- 
terim — by far the most important offlce in the cabinet — war 
being the instant, the jiressing, the almost exclusive business 
of the j)eople and of the government. He immediately adopted 
the most energetic measures to suj^press alnrms and to arouse 
and stimulate the people — and to concentrate the force, the 
arms, and the supplies of the country to its defence. 

On the 17th of March the government removed from Wash- 
ington to Harrisburg. On the thirtv-first of March, General 
Ru.^K issued a strong appeal to the people to march to the 
defence of their country. On the next diy he left for the 
army which he reached on the fourth April, most cordially 
welcomed by the Commander-in-Chief, and by the whole arni}^ 
His military abilties were of a very high order, and he was in 
all matters advised and consulted by the Commander-in-Chief. 
On the nineteenth April they united in a last and energetic 
appeal to the people to rally to the standard of their country. 
And on the twenty-first of April he distinguished himself in 
the victorious battle of San Jacinto — one of th )se great achiev- 
ments which stand out in prominent immortality on the page 
of history — which decide tlie issues of war and the fate of na- 
tions, and Avhicli in the language of General Eusk saved the 
country from the yoke of bondage, and " at the close of which 



13 

the snn of liberty and independence arose in Texas, never, it 
is t-o be hoped to be obscured by the' chjiids of despotism." 
His daring intrepidity in the assault, and humanity after the 
defeat, won the admiration of an army where all were brave — ' 
all animated with the highest impulses of freemen — all elec- 
trified with an enthusiasm and a determined resolution which 
could not fail against even greater odds of achieving the tri- 
umph. 

The wound of General Houston having disabled him from 
active service. Col. Rusk at the solicitation of the cabinet and 
of the army, accepted, though at great personal sacrifice, the 
command-in-chief, with the rank of Brigadier-General. The 
army was sustained in a state of great efficiency, but there 
being no second invasion nor active operations General Rusk 
next winter resigned his position, and also declined the office 
of Secretary of State, tendered him by President Houston, his 
private duties, burthened as he was with the support of his 
own and the family of a brother-in-law, requiring his attention. 

Let us pause to reflect for a moment on the character of the 
struggle among the leading Sj)irits of which the subject of 
these remarks occupies a very eminent rank. For grandeur 
and elevation of principle — for purity, fearlessness and lofti- 
ness of motive in its inception, as w^ell as for gallantry and un- 
conquerable resolution on the field of arms, vre do not exag- 
gerate when we say that it was not surpassed by any event in 
ancient or modern history. This was no war on the part of 
Texas for mere gloiy — -for spoliation or for aggrandisement on 
the rains of a weak or defenceless neighbor. This was a strug- 
gle by freemen who were born free, for their country, for tlieir 
homes — for liberties secured to them by the most sacred gua- 
rantees, and which, without fault on their part, were threat- 
ened with utter extinction. 

There is scarcely an instance in history in which there was 
so vast an inequality between the combatants, and the victory 
showed that in the language of divine truth, " the battle is 
not to the strono;." 



14 

We did not rise against an oppressor so smitten by age, or 
enfeebled by decay, as to be tottering to his fall Mexico held 
undisputed sway over a vast region which had comprised nine- 
teen States, and four territories, now merged into a strong 
central despotism, with eight millions of inhabitants, with a 
large standing army, ably officered, fully munitioned, and 
thoroughly disciplined. Texas was but a single province of 
one of these former States, with a j)opulation not amounting 
to thirty thousand inhabitants, almost without an army or 
navy or munitions of war. 

Texas was not leagued with other States or provinces as 
were the American colonics in 1776, capable many of them, 
of waging and sustaining war, supported as they Avere by for- 
eign aid, actual and anticipated. She was alone without 
co-operation from any of her sister States or provinces — with- 
out even the hope of support from any foreign ally, though 
not without the active and warmest individual symi^athies of 
many gallant and devoted friends of liberty in our native land 
who rallied — notwithstanding the pains and penalties of neu- 
trality laws — to our support against the armed hosts of des- 
potism. 

The dark masses of the enemy were pouring over the land, 
with havoc and extermination for their watchword — and de- 
solation marking their path. 

The families — the women and children and the whole popu- 
lation not under arms, were fleeing from a merciless and brutal 
soldiery with fearful dread that the tomahawk and scal])ing 
knife of the savage might be turned soon upon them — sparing 
in their bloody rage, neither sex, age, nor innocence. 

But the heroic spirits of Texas quailed not under these ter- 
rific circumstances. Their hearts trembled indeed for their 
wives and children, but as the enemy swelled in rage — in 
jiower — in menaces and deeds of extermination, so rose up 
high the spirit of resistance, the unfaltering resolution to sus- 
tain the liberties of their country, so long as there was one 
stout heart, or one single arm left to strike in their defence. 



15 

We may well say that in no struggle for liberty, ancient or 
modern, was there any one founded on more just or substan- 
tial rights — none more exalted in the motive — none certainly 
more daring and astonishing in enterprize — none in which the 
high resolve was more quickly followed by the heroic deed, or 
in which the career of despotism was crushed by a more 
speedy or decisive overthrow. 

We may say of the second of March, 1836, as has been elo- 
quently said of the fourth of July, 1776, that " on this day 
a nation was born at once — a new order of things arose, and 
an illustrious era in the history of human aftairs commenced." 
Most certainly a surprising era in the affairs of the American 
continent commenced on the second March, 1836. As the 
birth-day of our own independence, the day on which our lib- 
erties arose — it cannot be effaced from our hearts and recol- 
lections, nor should its annual return be suffered to pass with- 
out festivities and commemorations. Nor can we remember 
without gratitude the patriots who sustained Texas in the 
hour of her darkest peril. We reverence their names, we do 
homage to their patriotism, their burning zeal for liberty, and 
their exalted virtues. They rise in grand and brilliant array 
before the mind and the memory. Many have passed from 
this mortal scene. Let garlands be flung upon the graves of 
those who have passed to eternal life, and let the survivors 
be crowned with the respect, the honor and the veneration 
due to the fathers of our liberties. Among the most illus- 
trious of these was Thomas J. Rusk, one of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence — the Secretary of war, when 
war was the highest object, and almost the entire business of 
the G-overnment — the sound, the able adviser, the confiden- 
tial counsellor of the Commander-in-Chief, in that awful 
emergency when a mistake in judgment — a false movement 
might have occasioned the most disastrous calamitips, and 
been almost a death blow to our national existence, and final- 
ly was among the most distinguished of that chivalric band 
who swept the " minions of tyranny" as chaff before the wind 
and secured to Texas her equal rank among the nations of the 



16 

earth. Can the name of Thomas J. Rusk be forgotten ? 
Never. His name is indelibly associated with and will endure 
as long as the liberties of Texas survive. It will live as long 
as there is honor for exalted patriotism and worth, or gratitude 
and alloctionate remi3mbrance in the heart of man. 

1 will now resume the brief narrative of some of the more 
important events of the life of tlie patriot, whose services we 
counnemorate. He was engaged in military service during a 
portion of the Summer and the greater portion of the Fall and 
Winter of 1838. In August, 1838, a rebellion of the Mexi- 
cans in the vicinity of Nacogdoches was suppressed by troops 
under his command, and, about the same time, he pursued a 
band of hostile Caddoes, and disarmed them within the limits 
of the United States. In October, 1838, at the head of two 
hundred men, he defeated, after a sharp engagement, the war- 
riors of Kickapoo, a brave tribe of Indians, and, on the 15th 
and 16th of July, 1839, at the head of a regiment, a portion 
of the forces under the command of Brigadier Grcneral Douglass 
against the Cherokees, he was found in the thickest of the 
battles, and, by his daring and intrepidity, adding new laurels 
to the brightness of his fame. 

In the meantime, in December, 1838, he had been elected 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and, being absent on 
military service, perhaps not apprised of his election, no term 
of the Court was held in 1839. Pie i)resided at Austin in 
1840, being tlie first term at which there was a quorum of 
the Court in attendance. He resigned during that year, and 
resumed a vridelj'-extended, important and lucrative practice 
of the L^w. 

In 1843, he was elected Major General of the militia — an 
office with extensive powers, which, after a short period, ho 
resigned. 

But the political condition of Texas was now about to 
undergo an important change. A revolution (peaceful, in 
deed,) was to take from her a portion of her national sover- 
eignty and independence, and iucorj^orate her as one of the 



17 

States of the great Confederacy of the United States. Gen. 
KusK was a warm friend of annexation, from its incipiency, 
in all its forms, and, in 1845, lie was elected a member of the 
Convention, to frame the Constitution of the State. Of that 
Body he was unanimously declared the President, and served 
in that office with unsurpassed dignity, impartiality and abil- 
ity. He did not confine himself to the duties of presiding 
officer, but mingled, frequently, in the debates on important 
measures, and his clear conceptions, comprehensive views, 
forcible eloquence, and conservative tendencies, with his weight 
of character, exerted a powerful influence in the deliberations 
of the Convention. 

On the annexation of Texas, he was, in 1846, with great 
unanimity, elected one of her Eepresentatives in the United 
States' Senate — an office, which, under the then existing cir- 
cumstances, was felt to be of the deepest importance to the 
welfare of the State. He was twice re-elected, and such was 
his influential position in that august Body, and the estima- 
tion in which he was held by his fellow Senators, that he was 
elected President, pro tern, of the Senate, on the last day of 
its late session — this, the closing event of his Senatorial 
career, being one of the" highest testimonials that could be 
offered to his abilities and to his worth, moral and intellectual. 

I shall not attempt to recapitulate the political events occur- 
ring during the period of his Senatorshiji. His name, during 
the eleven years of his service, has been identified with some 
of the most important transactions that have transpired since 
the formation of the American Union. One of transcendant 
importance was the question of our Eio Grande Boundary, 
which, in 1850, assumed an aspect of complex difficulty, and, 
at one time, of the grossest outrage, and even of appalling 
danger to the State of Texas. The Eio Grande line had 
always been proclaimed and asserted by Texas. It was not 
distm'bed by the measure of annexation, but was substantially 
enforced by the United States in their war with Mexico, and 
was admitted by the United States, especially the Executive 



I 



^w'- 



18 

Depaitmeiil, up to 1850. It was then diBputed, and, at one 
time, repudiated by the United States. The question pre- 
sented various shapes of compromise — of threatened war, with- 
out compromise, if Texas attempted to enforce her jurisdic- 
tion ; and of compromise with the threatened enforcement of 
the hostile claims of the United States in the event of Texas 
declining to accept the proposition. The question was also 
complicated, or attempted to be entangled, with other issues 
between the northern and southern sections of the Union. 

The crisis demanded of our Representatives the highest 
degree of boldness, promptitude and solidity of judgment, 
profound sagacity, extended views of results immediate and 
remote, and an equanimity, which neither the injustice nor 
the menaces of enemies, nor the taunts of friends, (who were 
not unwilling that Texas should become the theatre, perhaps 
bl9ody, for the settlement of sectional issues,) could disturb 
or excite into such passion as might endanger the true inter- 
ests of the State. These, and other great qualities, were 
found in Gen. Rusk. He had also commanding personal 
influence— was devoted, with the warmest and strongest 
attachment, to the Union, but with his primal affections for 
his own State, which, he declared, was entitled " to the first 
and last drop of blood that ran in his veins, in defence of her 
just rights against all opposition, however formidable." 

For eight long months was this exciting, dangerous ques- 
tion (in connection with others,) the subject of debate by the 
great statesmen and orators of the American Senate. On 
numerous occasions, and at all proper times, did Gen. Rusk, 
in clear, strong, emphatic terms, and with undeniable facts 
and conclusive arguments, vindicate the justice of our claims, 
solemnly admonishing the country of the dangerous conse- 
quences of any violent infraction of our rights, as the State, 
against all opposition, would resist injustice and oppression to 
the end — refuting objections, and repelling' the unfounded 
assumptions of the adversary claim. The decision of his 
character, the ability and straight-forward earnestness of his 



19 

arguments, had great efficiency in producing the final result 
of an honorable compromise, for which he voted, and which 
was afterwards accepted by an immense majority of the people 
of the State. And thus was settled a most perilous contro- 
versy, which threatened, at one period, to deluge the State 
in blood, and, in its ultimate consequences, to destroy the 
Union itself. 

It might be deemed unjust, in this connection, not to allude 
to the cordial co-operation between our Senators in all the 
measm'es connected with the Boundary question ; and that, in 
all its stages — and in its darkest perils, the commanding abili- 
ties of Gen. Houston, his prudence, eloquence, energies and 
influence, were exerted with powerful effect to sustain the 
honor, the rights, the safety, and the interests of the State, — ■ 
and that these were most ably, eloquently and earnestly illus- 
trated, vindicated and sustained by Messrs. Kaufman and 
Howard, in the House of Kepresentatives. 

In the progress of this debate, on the twenty-eighth day of 
February, 1850, Mr. Rusk gave an exposition of his views on 
the subject of non-intervention, and strenuously maintained 
that the slave-holding States have an equal share with the 
other States in the Territories of the United States, and an 
equal right to remove there with their slaves as their property ; 
that the Territories were, in fact, open to all — to be equally 
enjoyed by all sections of the Union. 

This great doctrine of non-intervention, or the equality of 
rights and' privileges of the several States in the Territories of 
the United States, he, four years afterwards, affirmed by his 
vote on the Kansas and Nebraska Bill ; and it was again and 
emphatically asserted by him in the debates at the last session 
of Congress. 

There were many other important measures and principles 
with which he was identified, but which cannot, within the 
limits of this Eulogy, be enumerated. 

As Chairman of the committee on Post Offices and Post 
Roads, he had an intiniato knowledge of the Postal arrange- 



20 

mentB and wants of the country. And so deeply was his loss 
deplored by the Department, that the Post Master General, 
in an official letter, has paid a feeling and aflfecting tribute to 
his character and memory. 

His deep interest in railroad improvements, and his efforts \ 
and services in giving an impulse to the great line which is to / 
span the continent, and link the Atlantic and Pacific together i 
as with bands of iron, were most important, but are too famil- i 
iar to have been forgotten, or even obscured in the recollection. 

He was rarely absent fi-om his post in the Senate. With 
untiring assiduity he examined thoroughly the questions before 
that body, and his opinion when formed, especially on subjects 
before Committees to which he was attached, had a force almost 
irresistible. 

No man ever served in public life more entirely free from 
even the suspicion of corrupt, mercenary, or improper motives. 
With integrity, purity and singleness of purpose, he devoted 
his great talents to his country, unswerved by selfish designs, 
or the impulses of an ill-regulated ambition. He was endowed 
with moral courage in an eminent degree. As an illustration, on / 
the Boundary question, he expressed his determination to vote 
for a proi3osition which he thought Texas might with honor 
accejyt, though from information on which he relied, he felt 
conscious that by such vote, he would forfeit his seat in the 
Senate. This anticipation, happily for the country, proved to 
be groundless. Texas did accept the proposition. But his , 
resolution showed that even against a justly indignant public [ 
sentiment — ^but exasperated in his opinion to such a degree as \ 
to be deaf to the sugestions of prudence — he had a spirit which | 
could boldly stand up for what he deemed the true honor and ' 
interests of the State, though at the risk, nay, the certainty oi 
the sacrifice of himself. 

He was generous, magnanimous, brave and humane. He 
was largely endowed with that fine electric quality which seems 
the gift of nature — the result, perhaps, of a rare combination 
of the higher qualities of the intellect and of the heart, which 



21 

inspires confidence, and exerts in a mystical way, a control over 
surrounding persons, wMch exacts obedience from a soldier 
more from attachment and a high and implicit trust, than from 
the force of discipline, which in the hour of danger, draws all 
to him as the pilot who must weather the storm ; which arbi- 
trates and settles the difiiculties of others, makes friends every- 
where without effort, and in legislative assemblies, gives an 
influence which no mere talent, intellect, energy or efforts to 
please can ever possess. 

Gen. KuSK had all the essentials of genuine eloquence, j 
He mastered the strong points of the subject — had clear con- ■■ 
ceptions, sound practical common sense views. These were 
expressed with clearness, force, simplicity, directness, and with 
a bold and impassioned earnestness if requiredby the occasion, 
and these, aided by his lofty presence, full voice and beaming 
and expressive countenance, seldom failed or to propel the minds 
of his hearers before him, and produce conviction, the object 
of all eloquence. 

Without discussing particularly his character as a Lawyer 
and as a Judge, we may say that he combined the important 
elements necessary to constitute a great Lawyer. He had a 
thorough knowledge of the principles of the Law — a vast 
fund of common sense, a familiar acquaintance with the springs 
of human action — a spirit of investigation carried to any ex- 
tent required to enable him to master the great points in the 
facts and law of the cause. These were presented with great 
force of logic and with an earnestness and directness which, 
very generally imbued the minds or the jurors or tribunals, 
with his own impulses and views, and gave him a success sur- 
passed by none if reached by any of the many eminent gen- 
tlemen who were his cotemporaries in the practice, and who 
by their abilities, learning and worth, were ornaments at once 
of the profession and of their country. 

As a Judge, his career was too brief to form an important 
featm-e in the figure of his life. He presided at but one Term 
of the Supreme Court, at which, in the consultation room and 



22 

ill his opinions, lie gave abundant evidence of capacities for 
high judicial eminence — capacities which were developed with 
such grandeur and brightness in other spheres of public service. 

When the grave closes over men full of years and honors, 
who have reached the verge of human life, theu' death, as all 
the ends of living had been attained, does not affect us with 
a deep sense of loss or calamity. But the subject of these 
remarks was stricken from existence many years before the 
allotted period of human life. He was in the mid career of 
his usefulness — he might have reasonably anticipated the 
highest honors in the gift of the Government, His name had 
been prominent on occasions as a candidate for the Presidency. 
A laudable ambition in one who like him, had the requisite 
capacities, he sought not the office by schemes and contri- 
vances, or by efforts, having that object in view as their imme- 
diate or ultimate effects. While he sought not, he would not 
have declined the trust, and notwithstanding an innate modesty 
and diffidence which required the stimulus of friendship to 
induce him to accept office, yet tJie current of public opin- 
ion in his favor was increasing with such volume and force, 
the confidence in his abilities, integrity and patriotism was 
deepening and widening so rapidly that, had he lived, he would 
most probably have been promoted to the most exalted station 
by the voice of a grateful and admiring country. His sudden 
death under these circumstances, is a painful shock to the sen- 
sibilities of the mind. It is felt as an untimely stroke, as a 
national calamity, betokening we know not what of evil or 
misfortune. 

In his private relations, he was hospitable and kind, beloved 
of all his neighbors. He lived in patriarchal simplicity. All 
were welcome at his house, the humblest visited him, and were 
equally welcome and at home with the richest and greatest of 
the land. In the words of a friend, benevolence and kindness 
were more conspicuous in him than in any man he ever knew. 
He was deeply affectionate and tender in his family circle ; no 
word of unkindiiess to any member of his family was ever 
heard to flow from his lips. His wife, the partner of his bosom 



23 

in youth and in age, in misfortune and in prosperity, was clier- ; 
islied by him with an indescribable fervor and depth of tender- 1 
ness, love and aifection, and her death in the previous year was | 
a blow to his heart from which he never recovered. But it 
avails not to enumerate his virtues, public or private, or his 
services, or the hopes of his country untimely blighted. He 
is gone ! so far as a great man who lives in the imperishable 
records of his country's history can die. He has left us a bright 
heritage of Liberties won by his valor, and sustained and in- 
vigorated by the wisdom of his councils, and he has left a 
glorious example of exalted abilities and noble virtues all 
devoted to the service of his country. 

The manner of his death is the only shade on the grand and 
brilliant picture of his long, glorious and useful life. He had f 
been weak and sick for some time — the death of his wife had \ 
been to him a crushing affliction — his grief acting through the ' 
disordered state of his phj'sical condition, produced such an 
increasing degree of gloom and melancholy, as finally to weaken 
the control of reason, and in a moment of temporary insanity 
to produce the melancholy catastrophe which has filled the 
country with lamentation and w^oe. Let the tears of sym23athy 
flow for this suddea collapse of one of the finest of mental 
organizations, striking as it did from life and from his country 
forever, one of her most illustrious and venerated Patriots and 
Statesman. 

Death cometh to all as surely as the sun runneth his daily 
course, but it cannot obliterate the services which this great 
man has rendered to his country. It cannot diminish the 
brightness of his memory, shining as a star in the political 
heavens, and exerting for ages in the future its benign agency 
over the political destinies of the people. But, fellow-citizens, . • 
I will not attempt to detain you longer by this feeble tribute 
to the memory of the deceased. We may not look on his like 
again. His place may be filled, but who can fill the void in 
the hearts of his countrymen. We may, however, attempt to 
imitate his example, to emulate his virtues, to love our country 



24 

with devoted, uncalculating affection, to give it our hearts and 
souls, and if necessary, "the first and the last drop of blood 
that runs in our veins," to sustain the honor and rights of our 
beloved State against all opposition and to every extremity, 
and to fervently hope with him that this mighty, this growing 
Republic, may be perpetuated over a people enjoying all the 
blessings of Liberty, and all the benelicient glories of a union 
of patriotic fraternal feeling, and of constitutional and equal 
rights. 



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